I'll Always Be There for You...

I'll always be there for you...

Chapter 9

Everywhere inside were huge blown up pictures of me on the cover of Vogue magazine. It was the one where I was standing in front of the vine-covered wall.

As soon as I had walked in, several people started clapping.

Amir came up to me and shook my hand, as well as Draco's.

"How do you like it?" he asked, gesturing to the nearest one that had my name blown up at the bottom.

I couldn't even speak. I was just staring at my face. I couldn't believe for a second that that was what people saw when they looked at me.

I was so used to this other face that I couldn't really comprehend that this beautiful face was mine.

As I stared at the poster, Amir continued to talk with Draco.

"She did a fabulous job," said Amir. "It was like she was born to model. It was amazing. Everyone here is really impressed."

I smiled at him uncertainly and soon several people had come up to me, some whom I had worked with on the shoot and some people who wanted my interview and photo.

I didn't really know how to respond to this, so I just smiled and bit my lip.

Soon people moved away because dinner was being served buffet style, and people were grabbing plates and standing and eating.

"I guess people really like you," said Draco, his hands in his pockets.

I pushed a strand of hair off my shoulder. "I guess."

If I had felt that my dress was a little too short, then I was sadly mistaken. Several other models that were featured in the magazine had dresses that were much shorter than fine, much tighter and also went lower. I actually felt covered up.

I then went to the buffet and took a plate and heaped some food on it. All the other models, I had noticed, were either eating nothing or just a little bit of salad.

I looked at my plate and saw all the chicken, garlic bread, and noodles. Before I could hide my plate, a woman came up to me and introduced herself.

"Hello, I'm from Youth Issues TV," she said. "My name's Celina and I just wanted to tell you that you're very unique."

"I am?"

She nodded, while chewing on some pasta. "Very much. We at Youth issues were wondering if you would do a segment with us on body image because we read the article in the magazine and we loved it. It's so very real and much better than hearing sick models talk about how much they love drugs."

I laughed and she laughed as well. "Well, I can't promise you anything," I said. "I'll have to speak to my agent."

"Oh, that's fine," she said. "No pressure."

"Great." I smiled at her and then we continued talking about some of the other famous models.

After dinner was done, copies of the magazine were passed out.

For the first time I was able to see myself on the cover of a well known magazine. My black curls cascading down my shoulders. My small diamond nose ring twinkled into the camera and I felt proud.

I opened the magazine to the first page and looked at the inside cover. I almost gasped when I saw it. It was the photo I had insisted upon where I had laid down on the ledge of the fountain. It was close up and you could see the sky darkening behind me and also the droplets of water falling down in the fountain.

I had a half smile on my face; an all-knowing smile and for the first time in my life I would say that I looked beautiful.

I could hear people opening the magazine all around me and looking at the first picture. My cheeks flushed red as I heard the compliments coming my way.

Flipping through the magazine, I found many pictures of myself. There was a whole section called 'the new girl on the block' who had some of the pictures that we took with the George clothing and where I looked pretty normal. Following that was the interview I had done late at night.

In it, the interviewer asked me how I got into the industry. I gave a very vague answer about how 'my agent just happened to find me'. The she asked me how I felt about my body. To that I answered, "Actually, when I was younger I wasn't very body conscious. Of course I cared about how I looked and whether I looked good, but not that much. I was rather book worm-ish and cared about what was in my brain not on my body. Growing up though, when I was around sixteen, I kind of lost it and wanted to be 'beautiful' like every one else and got jealous of my friends who I thought were pretty 'cause they were skinny and I wasn't.'

'I heard a rumour that you had a hard job finding shoots because you were a little...well not chubby, but more normal looking than some of the other models?' My answer was, 'Actually that's true. People in this industry wouldn't give me jobs because they thought I was too fat.' 'How did you respond to that?'

My answer was, 'I ignored it. I am what I am and I can't change that for a job, no matter how fun the job may be. If this industry can't accept me for whom I am, then maybe this industry is wrong.'

'So do you still eat what you want?' 'Definitely! I love eating, especially junk like bagels and juice and I'm not going to forget that just cause I don't look a certain way. Being the bookworm I was when I was younger, it was always my dream to say something to the people who made the trends and ran this industry.' 'And what would that be?'

To this I answered, 'It was that people come in all shapes and sizes and if this industry relies on the public for its support, then it should look at the majority. And the majority are not size two's, or six feet tall or 90 pounds! Today, I want to make a statement by becoming a part of this industry. I want to show the coming generation that beauty comes in all sizes and that everyone can be beautiful. And by breaking into this industry, I want to show people I'm unique and I'm not going to fall into this trap of looking a certain way. I am 'Mione and I'm not afraid of being her.' It finished with, ''Mione is the youngest model to ever be on the cover of Vogue, someone who is very mysterious and also a charge of the infamous Draco Malfoy, who has coached several other famous models. It's no doubt that this model will go far as well.'

That was the end of the interview and as I finished reading it, several people came up to me to congratulate me and to tell me that they agreed with me. Many people wanted more interviews and also many people asked me to be their models for several shoots. By the end of it, Draco had about thirty cards from people who wanted me to model for them.

After the magazines were handed out, Amir stood up at a podium and tapped his wine glass. "I would like to toast someone very special today. This person is the youngest person to be on our magazine."

Several people turned around to look at me. I was standing beside Draco, blushing like mad. Or as mad as I could blush.

"This person is a very wonderful model, who treats everyone with respect and is very patient in her work. I am talking about none other than the irresistible 'Mione. Please join me in a toast to her."

Everyone held their glasses high above and said in unison, "'Mione."

Draco did so as well, but quietly and drank before everyone else.

After that there was music and people started dancing. Every young man apparently wanted to dance with me and I obliged them.

After about dancing with ten of them, I took a break and sat down at a table. I looked at everyone dancing and smiled at them. I spied Amir, Billy, several famous models and also Stella.

"Would you like to dance?" A voice behind me said.

I looked behind and saw Draco, holding his hand out at me.

I couldn't help but smile at him, because he was being so formal and so nice for a change.

"Sure," I said, taking his hand.

He pulled me onto the dance floor and held me close as we danced. I had never danced with anyone so close before, other than Ron, but I pushed him far from my mind. I didn't want to get upset.

"You're doing great," he said in my ear.

"You think so?" I said, uncertain. "It all seems so fake."

He twirled me and then caught me, holding me even closer than before. "It is fake, but you're real."

My palm becoming sweaty in his, I said, "I don't understand you, Draco." I looked into his eyes. "Sometimes you're mean to me, and sometimes you're nice. And sometimes it seems like there's a whole bigger purpose to this."

He pushed my bangs away from my eyes before I had the chance. "Hey, you're my Mudblood. Think of it as a loving hatred."

I laughed, surprised by his joke, for once knowing that it was a joke when he called me 'Mudblood'.

He watched me laugh and then said, "Soon I'll explain everything."

We had stopped dancing and were now staring at each other. Someone tapped my shoulder.

I turned around to find a man standing there. "May I have this dance?" he asked me.

The man scared the living daylights out of me. He was wearing all black clothing and had dishevelled blond hair. His eyes were icy blue and there was something scary in them. He was looking me up and down with a hungry look in his eyes. I didn't want to dance with him.

Draco nodded and bowed at me, kissing my hand and then walking away. My heart sped up at the touch of his lips on my hand. I don't know what was happening to me. Before I could fathom what it meant, the man took my hand and swept me away.

He stared at me as we danced and I tried to look him in the eye as well. "My name is John Stevens. I work with a company who looks for new and happening models."

I nodded and smiled, trying to appear interested, but the truth was I couldn't concentrate. The feeling of his hand on my waist was making me uncomfortable and so were his clear blue eyes and his hand in my hand.

"Of course you are the ravishing 'Mione," he said, giving me a twirl.

I smiled and he continued. "Is there a last name with that?"

I pushed away a strand of hair away from my face. "Um, no. Just 'Mione."

"Ah, and is it just 'Mione or is it part of something longer?" he asked me, his grip on my waist tightening.

"Just 'Mione," I said, saying what Draco had instructed me to.

"Of course," he said. The dance then ended and before I could leave, he said, "I was wondering if you could autograph your photo for me."

Before I could say anything, he pulled out the magazine and said, "It's for my niece. She's a big fan of all models and always wants me to get any model's autographs that I can get my hand on."

"All right," I said, taking the pen he held out and poising it above the magazine. "What's her name?"

"Actually she wants to give it to her best friend, but I never remember her name," he said, laughing. "If you could just sign it..."

"Right," I said. I wrote 'With Love, 'Mione' on the cover.

I handed it to him and he smiled, bowing low. "Thank you so much, Hermione. Oops, I mean 'Mione. My niece will be forever grateful."

"Your welcome," I said, moving away, but he took my hand and kissed it, just like Draco had done. Just as he moved away, he whispered in my ear, "Better keep that wand safe." Then he walked away.

I stared after him as he left. He had just called me Hermione, had he not? And he knew I was a witch? I had no idea who he was, but I knew that he wasn't good news. This meant that someone knew I was witch and also someone from the wizarding world had followed me here.

I looked around for Draco and found him talking to a man near the bar. Draco looked uneasy and the man he was talking to kept glancing around as he and Draco spoke.

It didn't look good, whatever they were talking about. Instead of disturbing him, I went over to Stella to talk to her.

The party finished at around 11 o'clock and everyone headed for their cars.

I followed Draco to his black Ferrari and got in and waited for him as he finished talking to the man.

He came into the car a few minutes later and started it immediately after he bucked his seat belt.

"What was that man saying?" I asked him.

"Nothing," he said, and he didn't speak to me for the rest of the car ride.

Fine then, I thought. If he wanted to be nice to me one moment and then completely ignore me the next, then I could do the same.

I refused to speak to him as well. When we reached the studio, I left the car without saying anything and let myself into the studio.

I ran upstairs and quickly changed my clothes and jumped into bed.

The next day, I was woken up roughly by someone. "Get up, Granger. Get up!" the voice said.

I moaned and then opened my eyes. Draco stood before me, looking upset.

"What's wrong?" I screamed. "For God's sake, it's only six thirty!"

"I am aware of that," he said. He was wearing a dark suit and I became conscious that I was wearing a short tank top and a pair of sweat pants. Not very model like or attractive.

"So? What's the big deal?" I demanded, getting up and crossing my arms across my chest.

"The big deal, Granger, is that we have a flight to Paris in an hour, so you better get your arse out of bed," he said, turning and leaving my room.

Paris? What in bloody hell? I was so confused! Since when were we going to Paris?

"Pack light," I heard him say on his way down.

I sighed and then got up. Under a half an hour, I took a shower, brushed my teeth, washed my face and got dressed. I then quickly grabbed some of my nice clothes and threw them into my carrier bag, after applying a spell to them so that they didn't wrinkle in the bag.

As I used my wand after a long time, I remembered scary John Stevens's words about my wand. How did he know I had a wand? And how did he know my name?

I didn't want to think about this. It would just freak my out even more.

I ran downstairs, where Malfoy threw me an apple and some fruit.

"Excuse me? But would you kindly tell me where we're going and why?" I demanded, my mouth full of apple.

"I told you, we're going to Paris for two days," he said, looking at something in his briefcase. "You have five shoots today and five tomorrow."

"With who?" I asked, my eyes widening. Since when did I have five shoots a day? I had only heard of successful models having that many, not the average ones.

"Versace, Channel, Guess, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Calvin Klein, Christine Dior, Prada, Vera Wang and Ralph Lauren," he said all in one breath.

"What?" I exclaimed. "Are you joking me?"

"No," he said without looking up.

I just stared at him until he turned around. "What?"

"Those are like the biggest designers in the world," I said.

"I know."

"So, I'm modeling for them?" I asked.

He nodded. "They all saw you on Vogue and asked me for shoots."

"Wow," I said, taking a bite of my apple. Even though I was no fashion freak, I knew that those names were the biggest in the world and I would be modeling for them.

"Hurry up," he said, closing his briefcase. "We need to be at the airport in minutes."

I nodded and finished my apple and joined him in the car. We reached the airport in ten minutes and checked in.

At the check in line, I asked him, "Are you coming too?"

"Yes, is that a problem?" he said.

I shook my head. "No, it's ok."

Since we were first class passengers, we were let on the plane first, only fifteen minutes after we arrived.

I was glad that I wore a comfortable cocktail dress because the ride was bumpy and uncomfortable.

I read a book on the plane while Malfoy beside me, looked at some papers. Despite my calm outer image, I was excited to be going to Paris!

The last time I had gone to France was in the summer when I was going into Fourth year, and I hadn't been back since. I looked forward to going back.

The flight to Paris was only an hour and a half long and we got a light snack on the way.

Paris looked exactly the same, I noticed, as I entered the airport and looked through the glass windows.

On the plane, Malfoy had told me that after we landed in Paris, someone from Versace would be there to pick us up.

Sure enough there was a lady who was waving uncertainly at us.

"Meester Draco Malfoy and Mees 'Mione?" she asked. I almost laughed out loud when I saw her. She looked like the exact duplicate of Fleur and even spoke like her! Suddenly I missed home really badly. But thinking of Fleur led to thoughts of Bill and thoughts of Bill led to Ron, who I didn't want to think about.

She was wearing a white designer skirt suit with a black camisole under. Her white blond hair was swept into an intricate French braid.

"Bonjour," I said, feeling like I had met her before.

She looked at me the same way. "I feel az if we 'ave met before, no?"

I nodded. "Yes, I do. You aren't a relation of Fleur Delacour are you?"

Her face broke out into a beautiful smile. "Ah oui! Fleur est ma sœur! Je m'appelle Gabrielle."

Draco looked back and forth at us. He appeared confused. "Oh oui!" I said. "Je m'appelle Hermione. Je suis un ami de Fleur. Perhaps you remember I met you at Hogwarts at the Triwizard Tournament?"

"Ah oui!" she said. "Vous étés l'ami de Harry?"

"Oui," I answered enthusiastically. "Il est mon meilleur ami."

"Oh," she said. "Mais je ne sais pas que vous étés un model. Quand vous commencez?"

"Environ 2 semaine," I answered.

"Ladies, perhaps we should get going," cut in Draco. "Nous sommes retard."

I didn't know he could speak French.

"Ah oui," said Gabrielle. "Sorry about zhat. Everyone here meeses her, but we all know why she iz zhere. Now if you could please follow me."

Draco and I followed her to a limousine waiting in the parking lot.

I got in first and Draco followed and then Gabrielle entered. She was very young, I could tell, at least five years younger than I. I remember the first time I had met her she had been only eight or nine years old and tagging along with Fleur everywhere.

It was so much fun to talk with someone I actually knew...well sort of. We had met at Fleur and Bill's wedding, but she had had an exam that day so I don't think she was there for that long.

"I don't actually work for Versace," she admitted. "I am actually an intern working to get some experience. My seester and muzzer do not like it very much, but I don't really care. I like it."

I smiled to hear her talk. She reminded me so much of Fleur and the way she used to talk.

We reached Versace studios soon enough and I got ready for my shoot. This shoot though, was nothing like anything I had ever done.

Malfoy got the contract signed quickly and stood to supervise with a bunch of people. This shoot though, was much more professional and with people who actually knew what they were doing.

I felt a little scared as I walked into the set wearing a tight off the shoulder black dress. For some reason I felt myself blush because Draco hadn't actually seen me model yet. Not if you count those times when he was teaching me. Wow, it seemed as if that was ages ago, but in truth it had only been a few weeks.

I was made to sit on a white block with white background behind me. Then I had to cross my legs while wearing a pair of wicked shoes. Several more items were brought out and my clothes changed every few minutes.

By the end of my session, I was dead tired but my reward was that the people at Versace were impressed.

Before we left for my shoot at Channel, Gabrielle hugged me and also slipped me her cell phone number. "You must call me before you leave Paris," she said.

We took a cab to Channel and Draco sat in the front, leaving me to sit in the back by myself, remembering the shoot.

We reached Channel and my shoot was also successful there. The next three stops were Guess, Ralph Lauren and Prada.

They all went well, except at Ralph Lauren I tripped and almost fell flat on my face, except I grabbed Draco's arm to steady myself.

It looked as if he was going to burst out laughing, but the next second he was serious again.

By the time I was done, it was ten o'clock and I hadn't eaten anything since my bagel that morning. I was starving and tired.

We were driven to a fantastic five star hotel, which was really crowded for some reason.

I waited in the waiting area while Draco got us our rooms. He was frowning when he came back. I was going to ask him what was wrong except he just told me to follow the bellhop, who took our bags and walked super fast.

I hurried after the two of them and then reached a suite on the twentieth floor. The bellhop left after giving Draco the key and he walked in.

I stepped into Draco's room. It was really nicely furnished and looked really fancy.

"It's nice," I said. "Now can I have the key to my room please?"

Draco was taking off his jacket. "Well, the thing is that there's no more rooms..."

I held up my hand. "Oh God, no. Please don't say this is all they have."

He shrugged. "This is all they have."

Shaking my head, I said, "No. This is so not happening. I'm not sharing this room with you, not now not ever."

"Just shut up," he said, closing the door.

"Shut up?" I planted my hands on my hips. "Excuse me?!"

"Just keep quiet," he said, rubbing his head. "I'm already trying to fix something you screwed up."

"I screwed up? So you think the fact that we have to share a room is my fault?" I said. "No! I'm going to speak to the man downstairs- right now."

I turned to go and tried to open the door, but it was locked. I unlocked it but it wouldn't still open. I took out my wand and muttered several spells at it. I then kicked it, which wasn't such a hot idea, considering that I was wearing pointy-toed shoes.

"What's the meaning of this?" I demanded.

"There are no more rooms," he said. "The concierge told me that normally they have vacancies but this week is some famous Art exhibition and people by the thousands have flown in from all over."

"What a coincidence," I said, rolling my eyes.

He shrugged. "Like it or not, we're sharing. If you don't like it then you can go and sleep on the street. Besides I have no pleasure in sharing this room with a Mudblood."

"So where do I sleep?" I asked.

"On the floor," he said.

I smiled sweetly at him. "No, no. I couldn't take your spot, Malfoy. You're sleeping on the floor."

He sat down at the desk. "Whatever. I have bigger problems right now."

"Like?"

"Like the one you just created," he said.

"Excuse me?"

"We just met Gabrielle Delacour, who is a witch and is sister of Fleur Delacour, who is married to Bill Weasley," he said.

"So? Gabrielle is like my sister in law." I then remembered that I wasn't engaged to Ron anymore and Gabrielle would not be my sister in law. "Or she would have been."

"Exactly. And I'm sure she will tell her sister, who's husband is big at the Ministry so the news is bound to reach the Wizarding World," he said.

Oh right. I hadn't thought about that. It was true. Gabrielle would probably tell Fleur, who would tell Bill who would tell Ron and Mrs. Weasley. Soon all my old friends, Lavender, Parvati, and everyone else would know what I was doing and what I looked like.

But then again, I wanted them to see me and to see that I was doing great without them. I would refuse to see them of course, but they would see me.

"So?" I said. "I'm done hiding now. I want people to know that I'm through with them." I didn't say Ron, but that's whom I was thinking of.

Malfoy didn't say anything, but was just silent for several minutes. "Yes...I guess that could work. But it would change everything..."

"Excuse me?" I asked.

He shook his head, standing up. "I think you should give Ms. Delacour a call."

"What?"

He shrugged. "You've got lots of publicity in the Muggle world, so why not the Wizarding world?" He walked to the bathroom, leaving me to think about what he had said.

When he came back, he was wearing grey sweat pants and a white t-shirt. It looked strange on him since he always wore suits and stuff. The white t-shirt was somewhat see-through so I could see that he was really well built. I blushed and averted my eyes before he saw.

"Here," he said, as he took out his wand and transfigured a large table in a corner into a mattress. "Enjoy." Then he dived into the other bed.

I sighed and then grabbed my bag and walked over to the bathroom. I changed into my pyjamas, which were blue and white striped pyjama bottoms with a blue t-shirt.

Yawning, I walked over to my mattress and got in. I fell asleep quickly after my long, but exciting day.